


and it felt good on my lips

by earlymorningechoes



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Gift Giving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 22:18:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8226515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlymorningechoes/pseuds/earlymorningechoes
Summary: The self-styled ‘pirate queen’ is exhausting, aggravating, infuriating...and exhilarating.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hallianna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hallianna/gifts).



> A Black Emporium rare pair exchange treat for @Hallianna!

    Josephine prides herself on her ability to stay calm in any situation. She has heard plenty of people call her ‘unflappable,’ and endured plenty of the same people teasing her for her lack of characteristic Antivan exuberance. Years in Val Royeaux have taught her the dangers of letting her true feelings show, and it's just as easy to let a reputation for diplomacy precede her.

    But this Isabela, recently arrived from Kirkwall on Hawke’s heels, seems to know exactly what will get under her skin, in a way that's eluded even Leliana all these years. Every time she appears, jewelry clicking and hips swaying, Josephine finds herself plotting escape routes to avoid yet another maddening conversation. But Isabela always appears at her elbow, ready to ask a question that will have Josephine ready to tear her hair out. Today is no different, and the Rivaini weasels her way into the small gathering Josephine's heralding just off the throne room.

    “Josie,” she starts, same as always, her face the perfect picture of innocence (Josephine had tried to correct her at first, but the familiar glint in her eye had made it clear it was a lost cause, and she’d given up). “However do you stand such dullards?”

    It's a question she's been asked many times, and she's never had to scramble for her answer before. But when she opens her mouth and “the beautiful women certainly help” is what comes out, she feels her cheeks flare red, and Isabela’s wicked grin makes her heart flutter and sink at the same time.

    “Always a pleasure, Lady Montilyet,” she says, and she's gone as quickly as she’d come, leaving Josephine to untangle what's just happened. Distracted for the rest of the soirée, she's grateful when the last of her guests is packed away in their rooms, and she falls into her chair with her head in her hands.

    She's always been invulnerable to the perils of attraction, able to ignore her own and use other people's fickle attentions to her advantage. But this Isabela, with her quips and barbs and laughing eyes, has wormed her way into Josephine's thoughts. As much as she wants to be annoyed with the ‘pirate queen,’ she finds herself looking forward to the dance of words they share, the back-and-forth repartee she'd come to think she'd never find someone skilled at outside of the capital.

    Shaking her head, she drops her hands and surveys her office, eyes falling on an unfamiliar package sitting on the corner of her desk. Wary of anything unexpected after her bout with the House of Repose, she's tempted to call for Leliana before opening it, but her curiosity gets the better of her and she undoes the twine and paper packaging.

    It's Antivan candy, grapefruit flavor, and a rush of memories from her childhood rush over her. The smell is as familiar as ever, and she's already placing one on her tongue when she notices a card tucked into the discarded wrapping. The wide, loopy handwriting is unfamiliar, but it also looks intentionally disguised.

    “A little treat, a long way from home,” she reads aloud. The card isn't signed, as expected, and she runs her fingers along the edge of it as she tries to determine who would secretly give her Antivan candy. There's always Leliana and the Inquisitor, both so steeped in secrets it seems their natural language, but neither would attempt to hide a gift. She runs through the list of people in the Inquisitor’s inner circle, each less likely to be the giver, and eventually comes to the conclusion that either Leliana is playing an elaborate practical joke, or Isabela left the candy.

    Her heart skips a beat, and she sighs in exasperation, trying to convince herself that even an imaginary dalliance with a pirate is a bad idea. Against her better judgement, she stands and searches through her things, looking for a pouch of Rivaini tea gifted her by a visitor who'd confused it for Antivan.

    She leaves the tea in the same spot on her desk, with a card that reads “something warm, a long way from home.” Hurrying out of her office, she shakes her head at her foolishness, but she doesn't turn back, nodding stiffly at the guard in the hallway as she escapes into the safety of her quarters.

    In the morning, on her way into the war room, she notices that the little pouch is still tucked among the trinkets on her desk. She comes out of the meeting already scribbling on her board, so focused that it isn't until early afternoon that she realizes it's gone. When she finally does, she finds herself inspecting the empty corner, trying to discern any clues to the mysterious gift-giver.

    Leliana, of course, chooses just this moment to walk in, and she looks so confused by Josephine kneeling in front of her desk that elaborate practical joke explanation rules itself out.

    “Are you looking for something?” she asks, ever curious, as Josephine stands and returns to her seat. She briefly considers lying outright, but as skilled as she is at crafting the truth to her advantage, Leliana knows her every tell.

    “Nothing important,” she says, ignoring the slight narrowing of Leliana's eyes. “You had something to tell me?”

    They slide easily into planning, talking of the upcoming ball at the Winter Palace, each in her element. After Leliana leaves, a parade of runners and aides starts through her office, leaving her no time to think of the gifts until evening.

    And suddenly Isabela’s standing in front of her, the pouch of tea cradled in one hand and the card in the other. She stands relaxed, weight all on one foot to accentuate her hips, a smile tugging at her lips.

    “An excellent deduction, Lady Josephine,” she says, tilting her head slightly to indicate the tea in her hand.

    Josephine's heart starts to pound in her ears, but she keeps her face impassive as she leans back to look up. “A gift with no strings attached, from you?”

    Isabela does laugh at that, and Josephine bites her lip to keep from smiling in return. “Whoever said there were no strings attached?” She leans forward, her hands on the desk, and Josephine feels something warm stir in her belly as she sits under Isabela's intense gaze.

    Neither moves for long moments, and then Josephine finds herself leaning forward despite all her misgivings, and then they're kissing. Isabela's lips are warm, and Josephine imagines they taste like the salt-spray of the Amaranthine Sea. Giddy from her own boldness, she doesn't want the kiss to stop.

    But stop it does, and Isabela stands back up straight with a smirk. “Well, you're definitely more interesting than anyone gives you credit for.” She sweeps out of the room, jewelry clicking and hips swaying, and Josephine falls heavily back into her chair.

    Her thoughts are loud in the quiet office, and she gazes at the door as it swings after Isabela. She reaches out and pops another one of the grapefruit candies into her mouth, the childhood memories that wash over her now tinged with the confirmation of Isabela’s gift and the possibility of more. The candy and the swinging door provide no answers, but when she finally leaves for bed, she finds she’s looking forward to tomorrow.


End file.
